Saara Retulainen has finished seventh in the weightlifting World Championships in Bahrain.
Competing in the women’s 59 kg class Saara Retulainen fell short of his opening weight of 92 kilos in the deadlift, but in the push he broke the Finnish record with his performance of 119 kilos.
On his third attempt, Retulainen got 123 kilos to his chest, but the push up was not successful. Retulainen’s total score was 211
Retulainen’s seventh place is the best Finnish finish at the World Championships in decades. The lifter representing the Turku Athletic Club was finally tenth in the snatch and seventh in the push.
– The race was good. Preparing for the World Championships has been especially demanding this fall. I’m really satisfied that despite that I was able to do a good training period before the competitions. In the race, it was amazing to be able to fight for the medals when the world’s absolute elite were there, Retulainen enthused in the press release.
– I am very satisfied with the best World Championship ranking of my career, and the result is also close to my best kilos.
Retulainen, 31, won EC silver in the push and EC bronze in the overall irons at the European championships held in February.
Bahrain’s World Championship was for North Korea in the women’s 59 kg category Kim Il-Gyong’s from the screen. Kim was first in both grab and push and won the competition with a total score of 249.